Second Varsity Eight moves on to grand final at NCAA Championships

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

No. 9 Virginia’s Second Varsity Eight qualified for Sunday’s grand final to highlight action at the NCAA Rowing Championships on Saturday at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Fla.

The Cavaliers’ Second Varsity Eight (6:33.634) rowed to a third-place finish in today’s A/B semifinals, finishing behind Stanford (6:26.132) and Yale (6:28.650). Ohio State, SMU and Michigan completed the top six.

UVA’s Varsity Eight and Varsity Four will compete in the petite finals after finishing sixth in its respective semifinal heats.

“Incredible race by the 2V8 to get into the final; very focused and intentional,” Virginia head coach Kevin Sauer said. “The V8 competed with everything they had and are looking forward to seeing how much they can bring in the petite final. The V4 was very competitive in the first 750 and were not able to sustain their speed but had an incredible repechage yesterday, so looking to bring that tomorrow.”

The Cavaliers’ Varsity Eight placed sixth behind Stanford (6:22.185), Washington, Princeton, Yale and Michigan with a time of 6:36.673.

Virginia’s Varsity Four finished sixth behind Washington (7:09.214), Texas, Brown, Michigan and Rutgers with a time of 7:26.606.

NCAA championship action concludes Sunday. Virginia’s first race will be the Varsity Four petite final at 9:22 a.m., followed by the Second Varsity Eight grand final (10 a.m.) and Varsity Eight petite final (10:12 a.m.). Live video streaming is available on NCAA.com.

Saturday A/B Semifinals

Varsity Eight Heat Two

1. Stanford, 6:22.185, 2. Washington, 6:23.741, 3. Princeton, 6:24.909, 4. Yale, 6:32.397, 5. Michigan, 6:36.373, 6. Virginia, 6:36.673

Second Varsity Eight Heat Two

1. Stanford, 6:26.132, 2. Yale, 6:28.650, 3. Virginia, 6:33.634, 4. Ohio State, 6:38.048, 5. SMU, 6:41.042, 6. Michigan, 6:42.844

Varsity Four Heat One

1. Washington, 7:09.214, 2. Texas, 7:11.366, 3. Brown, 7:15.124, 4. Michigan, 7:18.684, 5. Rutgers, 7:24.158, 6. Virginia, 7:26.606

Virginia Lineups

Varsity Eight: Coxswain ViVi Van Ingen, Stroke: Kate Kelly, 7: Leia Till, 6: Lauren Benedict, 5: Sonja Schlosser, 4: Nicola Lawless, 3: Alli Terblanche, 2: Kelsey Gems, Bow: Eva Frohnhofer

Second Varsity Eight: Coxswain Janet Conklin, Stroke: Addison Luce, 7: Meagan Goldsmith, 6: Lily Jarrett, 5: Helene Dimitrijev, 4: Lauren Orr, 3: Cameron Bentley, 2: Tahne Badenhorst, Bow: Larkin Brown

Varsity Four: Coxswain Nora Grabcheski, Stroke: Hailey Barnett, 3: Jenna Hajji, 2: Kate McGee, Bow: Sophia Coppola